Dagney - One poster here quoted the verbiage in court during a custody battle and won. Oh, snap! I would love to read that one.
Mentally diseased...spot the difference
by punkofnice 24 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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konceptual99
The WTS would claim that they have never said apostates are menatally ill in a clinical sense. Rather they would argue (and other references to the scripture do back this up) that they were simply using a pointed rendering of the greek which implies an unhealthily obsessive dotage on questionings. They would claim that the inference that the term is being used in a perjorative way is down to apostates deliberately misunderstanding the WT. They will back that WT up all the way so don't hold your breath waiting for it to be changed.
Whilst I know that there are witnesses who did get the original intent there are many more I have spoken to that believe that this scripture backs up a view that apostates are suffering a mental illness - one which transends all medical and scientific precedence since it can be contaigous!
I have wondered for some time what the motive of the WTS is in changing the translation to reflect the real meaning and my gut feel is that it is damage limitation. Regardless of the mud slung by the ex-JW community they can now argue that there was never any clinical diagnosis implied and the new translation makes that point easier to understand. They know they dropped a bollock PR wise on that one and this is the best way forward.
They will still be happy to use the phrase "mentally diseased" within the WTS community (c.f. this year's apostate talk at the DC) as the impact on JW minds is still great and it serves their purpose to do so.
Expect yet another doublespeak FAQ on jw.org at some point... "Do Jehovah's Witnesses View Former Members as 'Mentally Diseased'?"
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punkofnice
I have wondered for some time what the motive of the WTS is in changing the translation to reflect the real meaning and my gut feel is that it is damage limitation.
Copy that. 10/4. Yeah......it looks almost too obvious really I guess.
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AndDontCallMeShirley
Of course it's damage control ! WT is now run by bean counters and attorneys. Here's one example of many articles where secular authorities investigated WT as a hate group for its "mentally diseased" label:
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Jehovah's Witness Magazine Under Fire For Claiming Defectors Are 'Mentally Diseased'
English police are investigating whether a Jehovah's Witness magazine violated the country's religious hatred laws.
The July edition of the monthly publication Watchtower warned readers not to follow "false teachers" who may be "mentally diseased," The Telegraph reported. Part of the passage at issue reads:
"Suppose that a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who is infected with a contagious, deadly disease. You would know what the doctor means, and you would strictly heed his warning. Well, apostates are 'mentally diseased', and they seek to infect others with their disloyal teachings."
Watchtower is distributed around the world, but it was in the English town of Portsmouth that a group of ex-Witnesses made an official complaint.
Many Jehovah's Witnesses are not comfortable with the religion's notoriously harsh treatment of members who disagree with its doctrine and may choose to leave the church, reports The Independent One former member told the newspaper that "Many like me remain associated with the Witnesses out of fear of being uncovered as an 'apostate' and ousted, not just from the organization, but from their own friends and families. I find I am now branded as 'mentally diseased'--giving any who discovers my true beliefs free license to treat me with disdain."
According to PBS, Jehovah's Witnesses shun "as many as 30,000 members each year who refuse to live by the religion's moral tenets," as of 2007. Members who leave the group are subject to similar treatment.
Rick Fenton, a church spokesman, backed up the organization's practices to The Telegraph: "Any one of Jehovah's Witnesses is free to express their feelings and to ask questions," he said. "If a person changes their mind about Bible-based teachings they once held dear, we recognize their right to leave."
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/28/jehovahs-witness-magazine_n_985479.html
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Phizzy
Rick Fenton, speaking for the W.T, has mastered the Art of Weasel Words, he would do well in the Advertising industry !
Again I say well done to those who took this matter to the Police, that sort of action, and the resultant publicity, is powerful indeed.
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bigmac
the next Midweek study book
whats this?--another meeting? is it like they used to meet in someones house on a tuesday evening?
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punkofnice
Phizzy - Yeah. I know the ones involved in this too....good people!!!
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punkofnice
I thought this was an interesting piece of 'evidence' (if you can call it that), or indication of how the WBT$ will not stick by the wording of the book that Jehovah(TM) gave them in his infinite wisdom. Obviously Jehovah(TM) isn't so inerrant after all.
Rather they change Jehovah's(TM) inspired and inerrant word to avoid lesser 'worldly(TM)' powers from taking them to the bleedin' cleaners!
..............................I'd like to think that this must prove that the WBT$ don't believe in god either.
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Phizzy
" ....I'd like to think that this must prove that the WBT$ don't believe in god either."
I certainly strongly feel that those who actually run the Corporation, the Legal Beagles and the Financial Experts, along with those in the Writing Department, do not believe in the God of the Watchtower they publish. Neither do the believe a god has any hand in what their Corporation does or says.
The 8 Popes may believe, they certainly believe they are "special", which is true, educationally they are Special Needs.
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punkofnice
Phizzy - I agree. The 8 paedophile lovers are in need of remedial education but are too proud to admit it. The corporation surely isn't just run by super 'spiritual(TM)' drones. Anyone can pretend to be a believer for the right price.